Method and apparatus for making separable bottom stops for slide fasteners



Nov. 14, 1961 BOTTOM STOPS FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Original Filed April 29, 1957 E. LEVINE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING SEPARABLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR. [war Lev/1v:

Nov. 14, 1961 E. LEVINE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING SEPARABLE BOTTOM STOPS FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Original Filed April 29, 1957 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United StatS Pat n 3,008,511 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKIN SEPARABLE BOTTOM STOPS FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Elliot Levine, Brooklyn, N.Y. American Eyelet Co. Inc., 233 Spring St., New York 13, N.Y.). Original application Apr. 29, 1957, Ser. No. 655,883, now Patent No. 2,949,211, dated Aug. 16, 1960. Divided and this application Oct; 26, 1959, Ser. No. 848,673 7 Claims. (Cl. 156-443) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for.

making bottom stops for separable slide fasteners. More particularly, the invention pertains to a machine and process for preparing stringers for reception of bottom stop pins. The term pins as used in this art denotes both the soaeal'l'ed male pin which is adapted to be detachably coupled with a socket and the so-called female pin which is adapted to support the socket.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus of the character described which will simplify and render less expensive the manufacture of separable bottom stops for slide fasteners.

It is another object of theinventionto provide a method and. apparatusof the character described which are considerably less complex and therefore easier to operateand practice than the machines and processes heretofore employed for the same purpose whereby less skilled labor can be employed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus of the character described, which automate one of the steps in the manufacture of stops ofthe type here under consideration.

Other objects of the invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

The invention, accordingly, consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, arrangements of parts and series of steps which will be exemplified in the machine and process hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention,

' FIG. 1 is a side view of a machine embodying the present invention for separating the endmost pair of coupled stringers from a supply of such stringers and for doubling the cement carrying ends thereof; r

-FIG. 2 is a'front view of the machine shown in FIG.- 1;

. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the endmost pair ofcoupled stringers. after the. previously endmost pair of coupled stringers have been separated therefromand the new endmost pair has had the ends of its tapes doubled;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the 'line 4.4 of, FIG. 2, the-same illustrating the severing mechanism for cutting off the endrnost pairof coupled stringers;

- BIG. 5 is an enlarged sectionalview takensubstantially along the line 55 of FIG. 1, the same illustrating the driving train for the tape folding mechanism;

a. FIG. 6 is a front view of the tape folding and severing mechanisms which constitutes the principal operative components of the machine shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the aforesaid mechanisms being shown at the beginning of a folding and severing cycle; v

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the mechanisms after severingand during folding;

FIG. 8 is a view similar. to FIG. 7 butrat a later stage and showing the folding mechanism after retraction of the folding blade;: v

FIG'. 9 is a sectional-view taken substantially along the line 9-9 of FIG. '8; and I FIG- 10. is a view similar to FIG. 8 but at a still later Patented Nov. -14, 1961 "lice stage and showing final pressure being applied to the folded tapes.

In general the present invention deals with the treatment of coupled slide fastener stringers in the form in which they usually are fabricated in gap type chain machines. At the-time said coupled slide fastener stringers are fed into the machine of thepre'sent invention, they constitute consecutive pairs of coupled stringers, joined into long strips of the same, that/is to say, long strips of consecutive slide fastener stringers whereof matching sets of slide fastener elements thereon are coupled. Moreover, at this time the portions of the two tapes on which the slide fastener elements are mounted and which ultimately will constitute the bottom end of the pair of coupled stringers these portions hereinafter are referred to as the bottom portions and thebott0m ends have previously had a transverse band of adhesive cement applied thereto. More particularly, I provide a machine which severs, one after another, a pair of coupled stringers from the long strips of coupled stringers and doubles and presses together the cemented bottom portions of the endmost coupled pair of stringers remaining on the long strips.

-Referri-ng now in detail to the drawings, the machine 160. constitutes a die set 162 mounted in a conventional press 164 which is equipped with suitable mechanisms for actuating the die set. 1,

The die set essentially constitutes an anvil 166 and a cooperating set of upper dies 168. Understanding of the construction and operation of the anvil and upper dies will be expedited if the different upper dies and the cooperating parts of the anvil are individually described and such procedure will be adopted in the following portion of this specification.

First, however, it will be observed that the press '164 constitutes a bed 170 from which throat plates 172 extend-upwardly to carry an elevated horizontal operating shaft174. This shaft is conventionally driven as by a belt 176 trained about a fly-wheel 178 on the shaft, the belt being constantly driven by an electric motor (not shown). A standardone-revolution clutch 180 mounted on the fly-wheel is designed to engage or disengage the fly-wheel and shaft in the usual manner. Said clutch is controlled by a trip finger 182 that is actuated through a kinematic linkage 184 and rod 186 from a foot treadle (not shown) so that when the foot treadle is depressed by an operator. the trip finger engages the clutch 180 whichvthereupon turns the shaft 174 through 360 and then disengages itself automatically.

The shaft 174 carries an eecentric'188 on which the gudg'eonend 19.0 of a connecting rod 192 is journaled. Said, connecting rod is linked to a verticallyv reciprocal ram" 194 which idesonslide journals 196 conventionally furnished with the press. The ram carries a hold-down die198 which is one of the upperdies 1'68. Said holddownand sealing die consists of'a block 200 furnished on one side face 202 (see FIG. '10) :with a pair of vertical slots 204 in each of which a hold-down pin 206 is nonrotatably 'slidable. v

The upper end of each hold-down pin is provided with a forwardly extending finger 208 that passes through a slot 210 in a cover-plate 212 overlying the side face 202 of the block 200. The. slot 210 is somewhat narrower than the'slot 204 so that the pins are captively retained in the block 200. A tension spring 214 is secured at one end to a finger 208 and-a t its other end to a stationary lug 216 carried by the plate 212 whereby the hold-down fingers 206 are biased downwardly with respect to the block 200 but can experience upward movement relative thereto. Downward movement of the pins is limited by engagement of the finger 208 with the bottom of the slots 210, i l i In the back of each of the hold-down fingers the block is furnished with a pendent sealing abutment 218. Said abutment has a flat horizontal lower end the purpose whereof will become apparent as the description proceeds. In their lowermost positions (seeFIG. 9) the bottoms of the pins are lower than the bottom of the abutment.

The hold-down pins and abutment-are located directly above an upper fiat portion 2200f; the anvil 166 on which fiat portion there is adapted to be placed the next to the endrnost pair ofcoupled stringers S of a pair of long coupled strips ofsuch stringers.

The anvil 166 further includes a stationary folding block 222-which is located at one side of the flat portion 220- and extends above said portion. The block is provided with a horizontal slot 224 extending in a rearward direction from the front of the machine and having its lower horizontal side wall coextensive with the horizontal portion 220 of the anvil. The bottom of the slot is, as clearly can be seen, vertical and the other side wall of the slot is spaced above the horizontal anvil portion 220. The slot faces toward the side of the machine from which the strips to be operated upon are fed.

Immediately to the side of the folding block 2220pposite to that on which the slot 224 is formed is a stationary cutting blade 226.

The foregoing three parts, to-wit, the horizontal portion 220, the folding block 222 and the stationarycutting blade 226 constitute the principal parts of the anvil 166.

To fold on one another about medial fold lines running transversely of the lengths of the stringers S, the thus divided halves of the bottom ends E of the stringers which said bottom ends previously have had adhesive cement applied thereto, the machine 160 utilizes a folding blade 228. having a chamfered forwarclthin folding edge 230. This blade is secured to a mounting block 232 that is fastened to a folding lever 23 4 journalled for horizontal rotation about a post 235. For facilitating adjustment of the angular orientation of the folding blade the block 232 is provided with a rearwardly extending pin 236 (see FIG. 1) which is accommodated in the slotted endof the lever 234. A bolt 238 bridges the slot in order to draw the two sides thereof together and clamp the pin 236 in any adjusted angular position. It maybe mentioned at this point that the preferable position of the pin is one in which the folding blade is just a few degrees, e .g. 20, above the horizontal when in its operative folding position illustrated in FIG. 7. I

A cam 240 secured to the operating shaft 174; is employed to actuate the folding lever 234. Said cam engages a roller follower 242 journaled on a shaft244 that is carried by a slide rod 246 vertically reciprocalin a channel248 that is carried by one, of the throat plates 172. The slide rod is biased upwardly, so that the roller 242; follow the cam 240, by a tension spring 250 anchored. at its upper end to said throatplate and at its lower end to a pivoted' lever 252. having an edge bearing ag n the. nder si e fa, roller 25.4. a ble on the shaft 244.

The lide rod- 2.46 has a. lower slot e en in which. a pin,256 is. caught, being-heldthere. by a bolt 258 which squeezes the sides. of the, slottogether. The pin 256 serves as a connection between the slide. rodv and a yoke block 260, inwhich a roller 262 is journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis. Said roller is arranged to bear.

against the .upper edge of the folding lever 234. which is urged upwardly by a spring 2 64 maintained under. tensionbetweenthe-folding lever 234, and a bracket 266 high on'the. aforesaid; throat plate.

It. now will be. apparent that as the shaft 1774 rotates it will'first depress the slide rod and then. release the same for upward movement, As. the, slide rod; moves downit swing the folding lever; 234. counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 6-, so that the chamfered. edge of the folding blade oscillatestoward the slot 224' of the folding block 222.

Changing the orientation of the.

yoke block 260 permits the timing of the folding operation to be finely adjusted.

A cam 268 controls the severing operation of the machine 160. Said cam engages a roller follower 270 mounted on the tip of an oscillating lever 272. Said lever is fixed to a horizontal shaft 274 that is biased to turn in a counter-clockwise direction as viewedin FIG. 1 by a spring 276 that is tensioned between the base of 4 the. machine and a, lever 278, fixed on theshaft 2,74

The shaft 274. further has secured thereon a cutting lever 280 (see FIG. 4.), at the forward end of which is provided a roller 282. Saidroller rides on the upper edge of a rocking cutting blade 284. The rocking cutting blade is located alongside the stationary cutting blade 2'26, being biased towardthe same by a, spring 286. The rocking cutting blade is pivotedon a pin 288- adjacent the back of the stationary cutting blade. Thus!v will be clear that each time the shaft rotates. once. the, oscillating cutting blade first. will be brought down and then will be permitted to raise up again, the severing action being aquick one determined by the sharpness of the, node 290 on the cam 268.

The machine is provided witha locating, pin 29,2 extending upwardly from the flat anvil portion 22(1 adjacent the side of the anvil from which the long, coupled. strips are fed into the machine 160:.

To use said machine, an operator lays the nextto the endrnost pair of coupled stringers. S on a pair of'long strips. on a ramp 294. at the entrance. side of the machine.

The foremost element of the coupled groups: of slide. fastener elements formin part Ofthe next to the endmost pair of coupled stringers is butted against the locating pin 29.2 and. the endnrost pair of coupled stringers is pulled toward the exit side of themachine thustensing the tapes. from the pin 292 rightwardly as seen in FIG. 6. The gap between these two pairs. of stringers. is bridged over the top of the folding block, 222 and extends through the now open severing blades (See FIG. 6,), the stationary severing blade 226 being at substantially the same horizontal level as the top of thefolding block. The endmost pair of eoupledstringers is at time still an integral part of the. pail; Of long strips. However, in a previouscycle of operations in the machine it had thebottorn ends of its tapes doubled and cemented.

With the. stri ger n pe in the position ju t described the. operator steps on h fo ttre le. to eng g the clutch and cause the operating, shaft 174 to, turn through asingle complete revolution. The timing of the. various operating mechanismsv is such that the hold-down pins 206 first engage the tapes .of next to the foremost-pair of coupled stringers. pressingsaid tapes against thehorizontal portion 220: of the anvil to the front and back of the locating pin, 292. Thereupon the rocking severing blade 284' descends and cuts the foremost pair of coupled stringers away from the stripsso-tbat it is ready' for attach ment of the pins. At this time the now foremost'pair of coupled stringers which still have not yet had their ends folded and doubled aremaintained in position by'the holddown pins. I

Next the folding blade 228 which. initially was in the position shown in FIG. 6 swings toward the position indicated in FIG. 7 in whichthe forward edge-230 thereofenters theslot 222. This causes the bottom ends of the tapes of'the now foremost pair of coupled stringers to become foldedas clearly seen in- FIG; 7

It may be observed that said forward edge 230 of the folding blade 228 is formed with a pair of inwardly extending slots 296 (see l) to permit the foldingblade to move to its operative position indicatedin FIG. 7"

while the hold-down pins are pressing the tapes against the anvil.

The folding blade now retracts, as shown in FIG. 8, while the-ram 194, which atthestartof the cycle initiated its downward movement, continues to move downwardly as. indicated by the arrowfE. After. thefolding blade is out of position the continued downward movement of the.

ram brings the abutment 218 against the adhesively precemented folded tape portions and presses and seals said tape portions against one another as indicated in FIG. and FIG. 3 to double and cement the tape ends to one another. The hold-down pins remain in engagement with the tapes during this last step being telescopically received within the slots 204. i

Thereafter, the ram moves back upwardly, the upper severing blade 2&4 retracts to idle position as shown in FIG. 4, the folding blade having swung back to its upper elevation indicated in FIG. 6, and the one revolution clutch 180 trips out leaving the machine ready for performance of a fresh cycle of operations.

'The finished tapes with the folded-over cemented ends E are illustrated in FIG. 3. It will be apparent that when the abutment 218 presses against one anotherrthe two halves of the adhesively pre-cemented bottom portions of each slide-fastener stringer, the previously applied transverse band of cement will cause these two portions to become permanently joined to one another, It also will be observed that the severingoperation performed in the machine 160 is at the boundary line between the bottom portions of the tapes for an-individual stringer and the top ends of the individual tapes for the next consecutive stringer.

The present application is a division-of my copending application Serial No. 655,883 for Method and System for Making Separable Bottom Stops for Slide Fasteners, filed April 29, 1957, now Patent No. 2,949,211.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that I have provided a method and apparatus which achieve the various objects of the invention and are well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the instant invention and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

'1. In -a machine for folding and doubling the bottom ends of a pair of coupled stringers, that improvement comprising the combination of: an anvil on which to place said bottom ends, means to locate said bottom ends in predetermined position on said anvil, hold-down means to maintain said bottom ends in said predetermined position, a folding block extending across said anvil in a direction transverse to said stringers, said folding block including a slot extending in the same direction as said block, said slot having a side wall substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the anvil, a folding blade, means mounting said blade for bodily movement toward and away from said slot between two positions in one of which the tip of the blade enters the slot and is located adjacent said side wall thereof and in the other of which said blade is remote from said slot whereby to fold the bottom ends of said stringers, and means operable subsequent to the folding operation for pressing the folded portions of the bottom ends against one another so as to double the same.

2. In a machine for folding and doubling the bottom ends of a pair of coupled stringers, that improvement comprising the combination of: an anvil on which to place said bottom ends, means to locate said bottom ends in a predetermined position on said anvil, spring-loaded hold-down means to maintain said bottom ends in said predetermined position, a folding block extending across said anvil in a direction transverse to said stringers, said folding block including a slot extending in the same direction as said block, said slot having a side wall substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the anvil, a folding blade, means mounting said blade for bodily movement toward and away from said slot between two positions in one of which the tip of the blade enters the slot and is located adjacent said side wall thereof and in the other of which said blade is remote from said slot whereby to fold the bottom ends of said stringers, and means associated with said spring-loaded means and operable subsequent to the folding operation for pressing the folded portions of the bottom ends against one another so as to double the same.

3. In a machine for folding and doubling the bottom ends of a pair of coupled stringers, that improvement comprising the combination of: an anvil on which to place said bottom ends, means to locate said bottom ends in predetermined position on said anvil, hold-down means to maintain said bottom ends in said predetermined position, said anvil including a stationary folding member, means cooperable with said folding member and movable toward and away therefrom for folding the bottom ends of said stringers, and meanstoperable subsequent to the operation of the folding means for pressing the folded portions of the bottom ends against one another so as to double the same.

4. In a machine for folding and doubling the bottom ends of a pair of coupled stringers, that improvement comprising the combination of: an anvil on which to place said bottom ends, means to locate said bottom ends in predetermined position on said anvil, avertically reciprocal member, means moving said member toward and away from said anvil, a ho1d-down means, means mounting said hold-down means on said member for vertical move ment relative, thereto, means biasing said hold-down means toward said anvil, a folding block extending across said anvil in a direction transverse to said stringers, said folding block including a slot extending in the same direction as said block, said slot having a side wall sub stantially coplanar with the upper surface of the anvil, a folding blade, means mounting said blade for bodily movement toward and away from said slot between two positions in one of which the tip of the blade enters the slot and is located adjacent said side wall thereof and a in the other of which said blade is remote from said slot whereby to fold the bottom ends of said stringers, and means carried by said member and operable subsequent to the folding operation for pressing the folded portions of the bottom ends against one another so as to double the same.

5. In a machine for folding and doubling the bottom ends of a pair of coupled stringers, that improvement comprising the combination of: an anvil on which to place said bottom ends, means to locate said bottom ends in predetermined position on said anvil, hold-down means to maintain said bottom ends in said predetermined position, a folding block extending across said anvil in a direction transverse to said stringers, said folding block including a slot extending in the same direction as said block, said slot having a side wall substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the anvil, a folding blade, means mounting said blade for bodily oscillating movement toward and away from said slot between two positions in one of which the tip of the blade enters the slot and is located adjacent said side wall thereof and in the other of which said blade is remote from said slot whereby to fold the bottom ends of said stringers, and means operable subsequent to the folding operation for pressing the folded portions of the bottom ends against one another so as to double the same.

6. In a machine for operating upon long strips of spaced coupled stringers, each of which consists of a pair of tapes having coupled groups of slide fastener elements and wherein said groups are spaced apart along the tapes to provide gaps, that improvement comprising the cornbination of an anvil on which to place a gap portion of the stringers, means to locate said portion in a predetermined position on said anvil, hold-down means to maintain said gap portion in said predetermined position, a stationary folding member extending across said anvil in a direction transverse to said stringers, a folding blade, means mounting said blade for bodily movement toward and away from said folding'member between two positions, in one of which the tip of the blade is adjacent the member and the anvil and in the other of which said blade. is remote from said member, means, to move said blade from said remote position to said adjacent position after said hold-down means'engages, said .stringers Whereby to fold the stringers in the gap, means to sever a pair of adjacent stringers across said gap prior to the folding operation of said blade, and means operable subsequent to the folding operation of said blade for pressing the folded portions of said stringers against one another so aslto double the same.

7. In a machine for operating upon long strips of spaced coupled stringers, each of which consists of a pair of tapes having coupled groups of slide fastener elements and wherein said groups are spaced apart along the tapes to provide gaps, that improvement comprising the combination of: ananvil on which to place said stringers, a locating pin on said anvil for disposing a gap between a pair of adjacent stringers in a predetermined position on the anvil, a vertically reciprocal ram above the anvil, hold-down means mounted on said ram and spring-loaded downwardly toward the anvil, said hold-down means-being engageable upon descent of the ram to contact the stringers and maintain them in said predetermined position, a folding block extending across said anvil in a direction transverseto said stringers, said folding block including a slot extending in the same direction as said block, said slot having a side wall substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the anvil, a folding blade,

means mounting said blade for rocking movementbodily toward and away from said slot between two positions'in one of which the tip off the blade enters theslot and is located'adjacent said sidewall thereof and inthe other of which said blade is remote from saidslot, means movable synchronouslywith' the lram foi actuating saidvblad'e to engage said stringers at the gap and 'fold the same thereat after the ram has moved downward sufliciently tohave the hold-downlmeans contact'the stringers, astationary severing blade'carried by the anvil adjacent the block,

-a movable severing" blade, means movable synchronously with the ram for actuating said movable blade to cut across the stringers'atsaid gap between contact of the hold-down means against the'stringers and actuation of the folding blade, and means movable-with the ram and operable subsequent to the operation of the folding blade,

for pressing the folded portions of the gap against one another subsequent to severance so as to double the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 21166359- Silyerman; Oct. 1; 129,57 

